Leave it to Beaver (1997)

You might think that this 1997 comedy based on the popular late-'50s TV series would be little more than a pointless clone of its small-screen predecessor, but as a harmless slice of family entertainment it's surprisingly easy to take. Of course nobody could ever hope to match the original Cleaver family for Eisenhower-era charm, but there's cleverness afoot in the notion of presenting the Clinton-era Cleavers with just a hint of dysfunction beneath all that domestic bliss and innocence. While Ward (Christopher McDonald) pushes his son Beaver (Cameron Finley) onto the football team to compensate for the lost glories of his bygone youth, Beaver's grades suffer along with his self-esteem. When a teacher suggests that the Cleavers seek family counseling, June (Janine Turner) has visions of Beaver in the loony bin. Meanwhile, brother Wally is wracked with guilt over dating his friend Eddie Haskell's object of affection, but eventually these various plot lines (borrowed from the TV show) converge for the requisite happy ending. What--you were expecting Beaver to become a Prozac kid? --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

Save Your Money For The Real Thing!

Thankfully, we only checked this out at the library. My wife thought is was from the original series.

Where as the original series is entertaining and thought provoking, with no embarrassing moments when viewing the show, this post-modern movie treats us with fart-language, Eddie boasting of a bedroom episode, and Eddie calling June a "babe" to her face and a few other unacceptable for family viewing scenes. Trash!

Get the season series of the original show. We got season 2. A great value since there are 39 episodes in season 2. Season 1 is out too - another good one. Waiting for the other seasons. April 18, 2008

Heaven forbid Hollywood ever has a original idea.

How far back in sit-com history are they going to go? How about a new "Amos and Andy" movie with white characters? or the Jackie Gleason Show but cast a skinny guy as Jackie Gleason? or the "William Bendix show" with Sinbad? or "Pete & Gladys" with Beyonce and M&M as the new "Gladys and Pete"? or "December Bride" with Spring Byington, but now it can be "May-December Bride" with Jennifer Lopez? or a full length feature film with Quickdraw McGraw and Baba Louie, staring Jim Carey and Ricky Martin? Actually, these aren't that bad, hmmmm, I think I'm off to Hollywood, and if anyone steals these ideas I'll sue. July 12, 2007

Groovy Movie

Okay, YUP-it's corny. HELLO-its based on a very popular show from the 50s and 60s, which I happen to love. Forgive the cheese factor every once in awhile and enjoy this family film! June 6, 2005

Leave it to the Beave!!!

"Leave It to Beaver" was one of the most popular TV shows of the late 50s-early 60s.

Beaver was the youngest member of a 50s family called the Cleavers that included Dad (Ward), Mom (June) and big brother (Wally). When the show began in 1957 Beaver was 8 and his brother Wally 12.

Tony Dow as Wally Cleaver was perhaps the most likeable and most believeable of the Cleavers. He was teen-cute and acted like an honest-to-goodness, normal 50s teenager. Jerry Mathers as the Beave was cute too but a bit of a drag as he aged on the series. He grew up quickly and at one point he was almost as tall as his TV Mom and Dad! The producers should have quit while they were ahead.

Hugh Beaumont and Barabara Billingsley as the Cleaver Dad (Ward) and Mom (June) are another story. Dad grew up on a farm and apparently he and "June" were something like high school sweethearts. I don't remember discovering exactly what Dad did for a living. He had an office "downtown" and a "den" at home where he occasionally worked. But I don't remember ever being told exactly what he did. I'm guessing he sold insurance. He spent an extraordinary amount of time however counseling, guiding, and mentoring his boys over every little thing. He was the perfect 50s dad.

Mrs. Cleaver was a wonderful fantasy character. She reminded us in a number of episodes that she grew up with her Aunt Martha and she went to boarding school. Like other TV moms of the 50s she dressed in pearls, earbobs, and crisp, attractive frocks while housecleaning. Her hair and her makeup were perfect as she went about dusting the tops of china closets and making waffles. Ma Cleaver appeared to have few interests outside the home (like charities, church activites, animal shelters, bake sales, etc.) She was always at home tending her men by pouring glasses of milk, buttering toast, and tidying the kitchen. She was never shown doing truly laborious housework - like sorting dirty laundry or mopping floors. Her household tasks were light and ladylike (slivering carrots, polishing the silver, etc.) After the dining room table was cleared in the evening and the dishes were done, she sat beside her husband on the living room couch. He read the newspaper and she sewed buttons onto what appeared to be male clothing while both chatted about the boys.

Interestingly, none of the Cleavers watched TV.

The Cleavers lived in several different houses over the lifetime of the series and in each house the boys always had their own bathroom. The boys' bathroom wasn't out in the hallway but just off their bedroom - like a master bedroom and bath. This bathroom arrangement was really peculiar. It meant that there were at least 5 bathrooms in the Cleaver house: Mom and Dad probably had their own bathroom as part of the master suite and Beaver and Wally had their own bathroom as part of their bedroom suite. That's two bathrooms. There was probably another upstairs "guest" bedroom and this bedroom must have had its own bathroom as well. That makes three bathrooms. (This guest bedroom was where June's Aunt Martha would have stayed when she visited.) And then there must have been a bathroom in the upstairs hallway and possibly a downstairs "powder room" for guests and the convenience of the family when they didn't want to run upstairs. That makes 5 bathrooms. I'm guessing the downstairs powder room was tucked somewhere at the back of the main hallway or tucked into a corner of the kitchen.

The Cleaver boys spent a great deal of time in their bedroom. Whenever they rushed into the house after school, they usually asked to be immediately "excused" from Mom and/or Dad's presence and hurried to their bedroom. Wally sat at a desk doing homework while Beave lay in bed daydreaming, kid-worrying, or playing with a toy plane, a cowboy pistol, a comic book, etc. The amount of time the Cleaver boys spent in their bedroom was very peculiar. Beaver was very, very occasionally seen on the telephone in the living room however.

The Cleaver boys had several friends: Beaver had Larry Mondello, (a fat little boy), Gilbert, Whitey, Gus (an old fireman down the street), and many more but the most memorable were two snippy, snooty girls in his class. Wally had Lumpy and Eddie Haskell. Eddie is one of TVs most beloved and best remembered characters. His Slick Slimy approach to Mom and Dad Cleaver was the most orignal touch on the series.

Other notable minor characters were Mrs. Cleaver's maiden aunt Martha, Lumpy's Dad Mr. Rutherford, and Mary Ellen Rogers, a teen classmate of Wally's.

Almost everyone (including his mom) called little Theodore Cleaver "Beaver" or "The Beave." (Exceptions were Aunt Martha and Miss Landers, the Beave's teacher.) According to one of the earliest episodes, Theodore received his nickname from his older brother Wally who, as a 4 year old, could only pronouce "Theodore" as "Tweeter." It was Ma and Pa Cleaver who refined "Tweeter" to "Beaver." The producers intended the name to suggest a perky, toothy, happy little kid. December 6, 2004

Great movie!

This is a good movie to see, especially after seeing the original Leave it to Beaver series that were made in the 1950s. But there were some things wrong like some of the girls were wearing miniskirts and nobody wore miniskirts until 1965 or in the late '60s. And also in the movie, I saw Wally (Erik von Detten) was kissing his girlfriend Karen (Erika Christensen). And Wally wasn't kissing any of his girlfriends in the original Leave it to Beaver series except in this one episode that was made in February 28, 1963, "Box Office Attraction", Wally's girlfriend Marlene Holmes was kissing Wally. But anyway, this movie is 10x better than "The Sandlot." You can see my review on that movie too. So it is a great movie but I still like the original series of Leave it to Beaver that was made in the '50s. October 25, 2004

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